Fine reminder of risks of jaywalking with smartphone

ON JAN 14, the traffic police in Wenzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, began fining those who lower their heads to read smartphones while crossing the road, so as to enhance road safety. Yanzhao Metropolis comments:

The Wenzhou traffic police are enforcing the local Regulation on Promoting Civilized Behavior, which came into effect on Jan 1. That regulation came into effect because smartphones are an increasingly common cause of traffic accidents.

And while the dangers of driving while using a phone are well known, people seem to ignore the risks of crossing a street while concentrating on their phones. According to data from the World Health Organization, more than 270,000 pedestrians worldwide die from traffic accidents each year, and a major reason of them is the victim being distracted by his or her smartphone.